Roomies and Calamities
by aura-seer1234
Summary: A How to train your dragon, Rise of the Guardians, Brave, Tangled, Treasure Planet, Little mermaid College AU Cross-over story. Join our main heroes in their struggles entering into the world of adulthood. Rated M just in case
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE| DEALS OF A MOST UNFORTUNATE SORT| HICCUP

High school had gone by like a painful and unfortunate blur. He wasn't like his dad, his dad could swim like a fish in the sea of social interaction and other things that scared Hiccup equally as much. It wasn't that he didn't want to be cool or well liked at the very least…he did, it just always felt forced and unnatural on his part. He felt like he wasn't programmed to have many friends in truth he was just trying to find his voice.

Astrid didn't think that was it though, by some miracle he had managed to convince her to go out with him. Things were wonderful in his life until graduation when she dumped him. She had said he was a coward and a pushover and she wasn't going to put up with that in a guy. Then she moved all the way to Denmark on a gymnastics scholarship.

hiccup was alone in Aniville Maine…well almost alone, he still had Jim. However Jim had been having a tough time himself lately and he couldn't bring himself to harass his much cooler friend with his problems. The only person that really left was his father who had the same opinion of him as Astrid. When he spoke to him he felt like he was talking to her, except his father was literally trying to change him. Why wasn't he just good enough?

Schools seemed to think he was good enough, he had gotten many full scholarship offers to many different schools but instead opted for the local university. He wanted to take a mix of engineering and mechanic courses and the Aniville university-college had the best programmes for both of those things. It was an added bonus that Jim would also be attending but not on scholarship in his case.

Hiccup was sitting at his desk when the unmistakable sound of his father's knock at the door jolted him to reality. "Hiccup!" called his father gruffly, "may I come in?" Hiccup knew that he didn't really have the option of not letting his dad in so he sighed, got up and opened the door. He gestured for his great big hulking, pro football playing father to come in. It was a wonder that he was still in the game at his age.

Hiccup sat on his bed and looked at his dad awkwardly. "So…" he began, unsure of what to say, "what…uh…brings you here?"

"Well…" began his father, "I've put a lot of thought into it and I've decided that I don't want you living here when your first semester starts.." he said uncomfortably, rubbing the back of his neck.

Hiccup was taken aback, "Oh," was all he could manage. So his dad was really that done with him…where would he go? He had no friends…

"What I mean is, I've decided to buy you a house under a few conditions." said his dad frantically, trying to dig himself out of his hole.

Hiccup raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because I think the independence will be good for you," he said reasonably, "I was on my own when I was younger than you and I'm pretty sure I'm stronger for it."

Hiccup narrowed his eyes, "What about bills or groceries?" he asked sceptical He didn't want to have a job while he was at school, he wanted to focus solely on that.

"That will all be taken care of, if you meet the condition." he said, his father's trade mark confidence back.

"What is the condition?"

"You're going to have to find yourself two room mates within the week," said his father smugly crossing his arms. "Find two, bring them to me and I will buy you the house and take care of the bills." His dad had the money…he could do it, Hiccup knew that.

Slowly the blood drained from his face and a pit formed in his stomach, "b..but dad.." he began, concern clear in his voice, "I literally only know one person who might do it!" he was frantic near the end

His father laughed, a great booming chuckle, "Well then I'd be job hunting if I were you." he said before leaving the room.

Time stood still. He was so totally screwed.

He dove for his cell phone on his desk. He had put it on the charger at the beginning of summer vacation and he had hardly used it since. He slowly searched through his contacts for Jim. He finally found it, Hawkins Jim. He clicked the call button and waited nervously for him to answer.

"yeah," came the familiar unfriendly voice, Hiccup's heart began to race with his nerves.

"Uh…Jim…" he said, "I..I need help."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two| A way out| Jim

High school had gone by like a whirlwind of chaos and disappointment. Jim had found himself constantly in trouble and more often than not it wasn't even his fault in the first place. He just had this nasty habit of trusting people and seeing the good in them only to have them completely screw him over. it was like that with nearly everyone in his life, it was like that with John Silver, Billy Bones, his dad...hell it was like that with Ariel. Even after all of this time he had no idea where he stood with her, they were always on again and off again. Ariel's best friend Rapunzel (whom Jim thought was exceptionally strange) swore that Ariel really did like Jim quite a bit but when she was always standing him up on dates...

Jim groaned in frustration as he flopped down on his bed, it hurt too much to think of those people, especially Ariel. Instead he let his mind wander to the people who had been there for him, his mother and Hiccup. Jim had many friends but only two people who hadn't hurt him ever...well three if you counted Jack but that was complicated and weird. Jim had met Jack during his first group therapy session at the local mental hospital. After the issue with Silver his mother demanded he be admitted to a psyche ward, unsure of what to do to help him. Ever since then he had been in and out of that hospital, the only thing he had really figured out about himself though was that he wasn't the craziest guy out there not by a long shot.

He tried to clear his mind but his stress and his restlessness was building. He wanted to go out to the garage and work on his bike or the car but was without parts for either. He would go skateboarding but it was almost eleven and although the time and lack of light didn't bother him it would stress out his mom. His mom really didn't need the stress. She had to work two jobs to keep them afloat, one as a waitress and one as a maid at a hotel. Jim hadn't been able to hold down a job and he bet things would have been easier on her if he had.

He felt his phone buzz in his back pocket. He rolled his eyes at the thought of who could have been calling. It had to be someone from the hospital...or maybe some loser from school wanting to go get drunk or smoke up. he pulled out his dinosaur flip phone and was a little shocked to see that it was none other than Hiccup calling.

"Yeah," he said, his voice still tired from the stress of his day.

"Uh...Jim..." came Hiccup's awkward, nervous voice, "I...I need your help..."

Jim grew concerned immediately, he also got the feeling that Hiccup's dad had something to do with it. "What is it buddy?" he asked sitting up.

It was silent on the other end for a few seconds. Jim could picture Hiccup contorting his face trying to get his words out. "I need you to move in with me" he said at last in a rush.

"What?" asked Jim completely flabbergasted, why the hell would he need to move in with him?

Hiccup sighed, "my dad got this psycho idea to kick me out of the house and...well buy me one of my own." he said, "except he won't actually buy me the house unless I can bring him two people who will live there with me." He was growing a little frantic at this point,"Jim you are the only person I know who might do it! Please..."

Jim was a little in shock at this point. Move out of his mom's house? That would definitely take a lot off of her plate and she always did say that Hiccup was a good influence on him..."Hell yeah I'll be your roomie!" he said truly excited by the possibility of moving out and gaining all that freedom.

He heard Hiccup sigh in relief on the other end,"Oh thank god..." he said relief in his voice. "I only need one more..." he said, this time far more confident, after all he had just solved half of his problem.

"Oh I think I know the perfect person..." said Jim a little mischievously.

"Really?!" said Hiccup.

"Oh yeah, he's a friend from group therapy," he said walking to the doorway of his room. He had to go downstairs and tell his mother soon.

"What?" asked Hiccup a little unsure.

"He's cool Hiccup don't worry." said Jim nonchalantly. "anyway I've got to go, talk to you later."

"But" hiccup began

"Don't worry about it," said Jim interrupting him, "everything's going to be fine." he said and then he hung up.

He walked straight out of his room to the stairs and then to the living room. he heard a rumour from his neighbours that someone had killed themselves in the house by jumping down the stairs. Jim remembered rolling his eyes at the time but he was a little concerned about the possibility of a ghost.

He could hear his mother doing dishes in the kitchen so that's where he went. She was still wearing her maid uniform, Jim frowned feeling just a little guilty. "Hey mom..." he said. Usually he would ask her how her day went but today was different, he had to talk to her about things. "I need to talk to you about something." he said.

she stopped what she was doing and turned around, "about what?" she asked, clearly fearing the worst.

He smiled and laughed, "Uh, well I've decided to move out," he said, "Hiccup's dad is being crazy again."

As expected, his mother's eyes widened, "What...James Pleiades Hawkins, what is the meaning of this?" His mother was frantic.

He reached out and took her hand, "Mom, Hiccup's dad is buying him a house and he needs a room mate." He chuckled, "You know better than I do that he''s way to frantic and manic to handle living by himself...that and he'll be living on the street if I don't agree to it."

"Huh?" said his mother not really understanding, she shook her head, she was far too tired to even attempt understanding Hiccup's father. "You're still going to school right?" she asked.

Jim nodded, "Yeah, and I'm going to get a job." he said, "I'm going to make you proud mom."

His mother pulled him into a hug. She knew she should have been protesting but Jim hadn't really gotten any better since the Silver incident. He needed a change and Hiccup was such a good influence. "Okay," she said into his shoulder, fighting back the tears.

He pulled away, completely beaming, "I'll visit all the time!" he said, "Hey I have to go make a phone call, I'll be back."

He went to the living room and picked up the land line, it still had a cord. Jim dialled the number to the psyche ward. "Hey Wanda," he said when the night nurse answered, "Can you put Jack on the phone, I'm pretty sure he's still awake..."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three | Sunrise at Night | Jack

Jack had spent yet another night laying awake in bed. There was something about the moon that kept him up...and sleep was so boring. He had a fairly eventful day that day, he had a visit from the tooth fairy, his dentist extraordinaire, those were always nice. He found it odd that someone could stay so fascinated by one thing and why on earth would you fascinate yourself with teeth? It was all very perplexing to Jack but he didn't care as it usually didn't bother him when he didn't understand things.  
Next he caused some trouble for Bunnymund the janitor He had started a huge food fight in the lunch room and although he had gotten a scolding from Santa Clause, the psychologist who dealt with him regularly, it was well worth it. Bunnymund had the most hilarious reaction to Jack's mischief. He found it amusing that he had decided to be Jack's rival but mostly Jack was just glad that someone cared that much about him to get angry in the first place.  
Jack didn't have that many people in his life that would be upset if he were to disappear. He was positive that he must have had these people at one point but he just couldn't remember who they were. He was told that he was an orphan and that he lived in a group home with his sister but when they were skating they fell through the ice. The trauma caused severe amnesia in Jack and killed his younger sister.  
He got up and walked over to his window, gazing at the street bellow. There were very few people out and about at this time of night and they seemed to be the usual folks who walked by. There was a few homeless people who Jack felt should be in the hospital like him and Edgar the failure of a drug dealer. He felt sort of bad for the guy, he tried so hard to push his product whatever it was. At least he was never caught though.  
Jack's interest was peaked when he saw someone he didn't expect, a girl with long blond hair walking quickly and skittishly down the street. He could understand her concern, she was alone in a bad part of town. Why was she here? Why would she be wandering alone in the middle of the night? His concern kept him captivated with her, he decided to watch her until she was out of sight in case someone tried to mug her or hurt her.  
"Mr. Frost," said Wanda the night shift nurse from behind him. She sounded aggravated...well she always sounded aggravated but now she sounded especially aggravated She held out a cordless phone, "Mr. Hawkins saw fit to call you at this un-godly hour." She tossed the phone over to him and jack caught it easily with a smile on his face.  
"Thanks Ms. Fish" he said before putting the phone to his ear. "Hello space man, how's it going?" he asked his friend, still watching the girl, she had stopped to readjust her back pack.  
"You sound a bit distracted," said Jim.  
Jack nodded, "That would be because I am," he said matter-of factly.  
"What's managed to catch your attention?" asked Jim, only mildly curious.  
Jack shrugged, "Nothing much, the sun just came out at night..." the girl was now out of sight and Jack was more focused on what Jim had to say. "So why the late night phone call, did you not get enough of my awesome today at group therapy?" he said with a smirk.  
"Oh yeah," said Jim sarcastically, "You just rock so much I couldn't help myself," Jack could practically hear Jim rolling his eyes. "No, I called because I have a proposition for you," he said more seriously.  
Jack raised an eyebrow, "What, you find a way to get me out of here?" he asked.  
"Actually," said Jim,"yeah...that's more or less it."  
Jack froze for a moment, "no way..." he said surprised, "what would I have to do?"  
"Move in with me and my friend Hiccup," said Jim, "I told you about him..."  
"Yeah, " said Jack a little dazed, "he's the manic genius guy..."  
"So are you in?" asked Jim, "please man, he really needs your help." said Jim a little desperately.  
Jack had wanted out of that hospital for so long, he was tired of the smell, he was tired of the pills that did nothing but make him sleep. He was done with the schedules and the rules, he was done with the indulgent smiles and more than anything he was done with green Jello and cream corn. He wanted to jump out the window and let the wind carry him somewhere else...and now he had the chance to leave? It felt unreal.

"How soon can I leave?" he asked. He heard Jim sigh in relief.  
"By the end of the week," said Jim, "thanks frost." He had never heard someone speak so genuinely before...well...at least he couldn't remember anyone being so genuine.  
"No, thank you Spaceman..." said Jack. He heard Wanda harumph from the hall, "hey I gotta go, talk to you later!" with that he hung up the phone and walked out to the hall to give it to Wanda.  
"Here you go Ms. Fish," he said handing her the phone.  
She took it, her face softer than he had ever seen it before, "So are you really going to go?" she asked a little sadly. Jack was a little shocked, he thought the middle-aged woman hated his guts.  
"yeah..." he said, a little taken aback, "I'm sure I'll have to come back for Santa to keep tabs on me though...so it isn't really good-bye."  
"Jack, His name is Nick ST. North...You do know that don't you?" asked Wanda curiously. She couldn't figure out whether he honestly thought his psychologist was Santa or not. Was it insanity or boredom?  
Jack chuckled, "wouldn't you like to know?" he asked with a wink.  
She rolled her eyes," just get to sleep you nut ball," she said, her usual annoyance returning. Jack turned to go back into his room when she spoke again. "Hey Jack," she said "We're all going to miss you around here..even Mr. Hare."  
Jack was about to turn around and make a witty come back about how the easter bunny would not be missing him but she was already half way down the hall. He frowned thoughtfully before returning to his room.  
he lay on his bed unable to sleep, he had a very eventful day and there was something about the moon that kept him awake at night. his mid was busy with thought of freedom and the girl with golden hair. He found it perplexing that the sun should rise at night, it seemed that it did though because as clearly as he saw her he could see that a new day was dawning.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four| Jumping at shadows| Rapunzel**

Rapunzel was freaked out of her mind and jumpy as hell. Why did they have to have the studio in this part of town? she groaned in her head with frustration. She wasn't defenceless though, after all she had her exacto knife, her keys and her fixative spray which truth be told was more effective than pepper spray. Rapunzel just figured that her fear was more about having to hurt someone else than getting hurt herself. She shrugged the thought away, after all there was always the chance someone could pop out of nowhere and take her by surprise.

Then there was also her mother...what would she do if she ran into her? Rapunzel had moved out of her mother's apartment after graduation at the urging of her best friend Ariel. She now lived with her and her cousin Merida, who Rapunzel liked immensely. Things would have been pretty perfect if her mother hadn't decided that she wasn't okay with Rapunzel leaving. If Rapunzel was being truly honest, she hadn't moved out, she ran away. She just couldn't be suffocated by her mom anymore, it wasn't fair.

She felt a little safer walking by the hospital, there was a break in the trees and the moon and the building it's self were emitting a mysterious and comforting light. The air was a little chilly, but it felt a little nicer for whatever reason. She glanced a couple of times at the great big old building. She had heard that it was over a hundred years old and was haunted but that was just a rumour. She did know for a fact that it was mostly used as a mental health facility which made her a little sad as she walked by.

She figured that the people in there didn't get a lot of visitors and she figured that must be a painfully lonely thing. She empathized with them, she had experience with not being let outside and not having many shoulders to lean on. She had been home schooled until highschool and her only friend for a long time was a chameleon named pascal. Things changed in grade nine when she met Ariel and unfortunately her chameleon died.  
Highschool had been a bit of a crazy experience for her, she was best friends with the most popular girl in school so she had people to hang out with. For whatever reason though she wasn't as well liked, she supposed that this was because Ariel cast a pretty huge shadow. Ariel was everything Rapunzel was but also everything she wasn't. Ariel was always the girl to do the crazy things at the party, the one who would crash her care and throw parties just to piss her parents off. She was a glowing fire works show and every guy Rapunzel had ever had a crush on was far too captivated with the light to look at Rapunzel.

It started with Milo Thatch in grade nine, he was so smart and a little bit of an out cast. They had way more in common than he and Ariel but he had been crushing on the radiant red head instead. Rapunzel knew that she shouldn't be upset or bitter over it, after all they never even really spoke...so why did it hurt? Next was Kuzco, that was just a fleeting crush though which turned into a jealousy rather quickly. It wasn't fair that a guy should have such pretty hair. Jim and Eric were the worst though because she genuinely did like them, in fact she met both of them first but it seemed they forgot all about Rapunzel when they saw Ariel. After that she just gave up entirely because she knew that her best friend couldn't help being who she was and she wouldn't give up their friendship for the world.

There would always be that shimmer of resentment though, which is why she had such a great relationship with Merida. Merida was beautiful like her cousin but she wasn't a princess like she was. Instead she was a raging warrior queen who was a master archer and out doors lady. Merida was a lot of fun, even if keeping up with her was a little difficult she didn't get tired of trying. She was different from her cousin in almost every regard, where Ariel loved to shop Merida hated dressing up. Where Ariel couldn't cook toast Merida...well she could manage Kraft dinner but she did have a healthy respect for cooking. They both loved to be rebels though and they both loved music. In their last year of Highschool the three of them had made a weird sort of band for the final assembly. Ariel sang and played the key board, Merida rocked the drums and Rapunzel played guitar, they were pretty good too...

Rapunzel found herself sneezing just when she was out of sight of the Hospital. She chuckled as she thought that it might be because someone was talking about her while she wasn't there. Her amusement was cut short when she heard something behind her. She could swear that she saw the shadows of two very tall people behind her. Were they more goons sent by her mother to bring her home? Rapunzel's heart was racing, she didn't want the start a chase so she continued to walk quite quickly. Luckily for her there was a church that appeared to be open.  
She walked in, she could see a few of the parishioners cleaning and one of them asked if she needed something. She explained that she was just freaked out by being on the street at night all by herself. She then sat in one of the pews and sent a text to Merida,  
I need you to pick me up at Holy Circle church, it read...

* * *

AN: So now we're moving on to the ladies! There wasn't really any dialogue in this one so it's a little slow...but back story is important so sorry but not sorry lol!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 | Reputation | Merida

Merida was on her way home from a late night at the archery range yet again. She loved her rickety old truck and decided that she would name it Angus, feeling that was an appropriate name for a truck. Her cousin didn't really approve, actually her cousin didn't approve of much she did. It wasn't that she judged her for it, she just made it clear that she wasn't doing things that she herself would do.

Merida had a complicated relationship with the other red head. On one hand they drove each other insane but on the other hand they had become so close in such a short amount of time. When she moved to Maine from Scotland Ariel immediately took her under her wing and although Merida thought it was hardly necessary, she accepted her thoughtfulness In hindsight accepting her pushy inclusiveness was probably the best decision she could have made because she go to hang out with Rapunzel a lot. Rapunzel was Merida's best friend, she was the girl who she could go adventuring with and complain about parents with. She was the girl who would bake mad amounts of cup cakes while Merida ate them. She also didn't attract stupid men to her like Ariel did and Merida hated stupid men.

From what she could see of Jim he seemed to be alright but he just screamed trouble. He had the same presence as those boys who called her a lesbian after she shot them down at the school show. Merida didn't refute these claims but she didn't confirm them either, she abhorred homophobia and thought that her sexuality was no ones business but her own. That said rumours about her swinging that way weren't easy to deal with since some students seemed to think it was grounds for ridicule.

She was so glad that she was the one to suffer through it though because if there was one thing Merida could take time and time again, it was a hit. She was a fighter and she was going to use that power in her to keep her friends safe so when she got a text from Rapunzel to pick her up, protective mode was activated. She knew all about her friend's psycho mother and was not about to loose rapunzel to her.  
She was driving a little faster than she should have considering the speed limit and the fact that it night but she couldn't help it. For one thing she was anxious to get to Rapunzel and for another thing she just drove fast... always.

She was aware of people on the street but didn't really care what they were up to. She drove by a Hospital she knew was meant mostly for mentally ill people and got quite a shiver. Being sick in that way scared Merida, to her the thought of having Bipolar disorder or seeing things that weren't there was worse that the thought of having a tumour. A tumour she could deal with, it was physical and she could see it and trust it.

She finally reached the church and screeched into the parking lot, purposely causing a scene. She was never a big fan of the church, churches had rules and Merida wasn't a big fan of those. She kicked open the driver's side door, swung her bow and quiver over her back and marched up to the door of the church. Realistically speaking she knew that she wasn't going to be shooting anyone but people just didn't mess with someone with a bow...they just didn't. With her bow to make her look intimidating and her keys in case she really did get attacked she walked right in through the doors.

She got a few strange looks from the people who were working there but no one asked her to leave or remove her weapons. _makes sense it does_, she thought, _this be a rough part of town_. The quiet of the church was rather eerie, and the air was very calm and still. All in all it was a very ethereal experience being there.

She walked into where the mass was held and saw Rapunzel sitting in one of the pews. Her tiny form was slouched and it made Merida very upset to see her that way, she hated seeing people look so defeated. She walked over and stood next to her.  
Rapunzel looked up at her "thank you for coming to get me," she said, her voice tired.

Merida laughed, "Nay wee lamb, no need to thank me." she said smiling brightly, "Let's get home before they try to convert me then eh?"

Rapunzel smiled just a little in return, "alright then," she said, "Hey Merida, since it's sunday tomorow can we bake cookies or something? You aren't busy right?"

Merida furrowed her brows trying to remember her summer training schedule for the college. She had gotten an archery and a triathlon scholarship so she had to join the teams and thus was subjected to training, which she actually considered to be quite enjoyable. "I'm free in the afternoon I think." she said nonchalantly, "If I am then I will definitely bake cookies with ya"

Rapunzel smiled, "good!" she said straightening up a bit, "I could use a massive ton of cookies."

With that the pair left the church and got into Merida's truck Angus. Merida was sure that she saw something move in the shadows but she was fairly certain that whoever it was was too scared of her to actually approach them.

When they were on the road at last she sent a quick text to Ariel letting her know that they would be getting home soon. she turned to Rapunzel, " So how be the painting comin'?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 | Bras songs and Weeping best friends | Ariel

Ariel sat on her bed fingers stroking her key board in an almost sexual way. If she were being totally honest with herself, the only thing that had ever gotten close to satisfying her in that way was music...but Ariel wasn't very good at being honest with herself. In fact she had told herself so many lies that she wasn't entirely sure what was true and what was real about her. She wanted to be a part of something beyond what her life was but she couldn't imagine what that might be. After all this time she still hadn't found where she belonged or who she belong with so despite her father's wishes she went out looking for it. She would be damned if she was just going to sit and wallow in her insecurity.

She wanted to explore.

She supposed that's why she loved music so much, she felt like she was swimming in her soul when she sang. She felt like there wasn't anything wrong with her...this wasn't the case usually. When she was with her friends Rapunzel and Merida she felt like a misfit but that's what helped her to relate to them. Unlike them, she pretended she wasn't one.

Being a Misfit was what drew Ariel to Jim in the first part. She felt like she was struggling along with him. She thought that they made sense together, that there was some magic spark. At the beginning she was eager to go all the way with him but after the first time...and the second...and the fourth...she still hadn't achieved that feeling.

And she had no idea why.

So instead of being honest with herself and with Jim, she faked it, and afterwards felt ashamed. It's why she avoided him sometimes, he was becoming yet another notch on her bed post. After that happened Ariel didn't usually talk to her one time boy friends which really sucked because Ariel truly did love Jim. He just wasn't the one.

Neither was Eric or Kuzco...or Milo...or Aladdin...or John. Ariel shook her perfect red locks tying to shake away her thoughts. When she thought of how many men she had slept with it made her feel dirty and extremely frustrated that she hadn't even gotten an orgasm out of any of them. That thought made her feel like a slut too.

At the moment she certainly looked like one, she was in nothing but her bra and gym shorts. The only thing keeping her from getting goose bumps was her open cardigan. She wasn't concerned though, she was in the privacy of her home and was thoroughly distracted by her music.

Ariel was in the music program at the college with an emphasis in vocal music. Out of the entire class Ariel was one of the best singers, in fact she would have been the best if it weren't for prim and perfect Aurora Hawthorn. Aurora had everything Ariel didn't have...but she also had everything she did. She was smart and beautiful, she had a squeaky clean reputation too which was something that Ariel envied. Aurora and Ariel were friends, after all they hung out in the same crowd but if Ariel was being completely honest with herself...she actually wanted to punch lady sunshine right out.

She wouldn't hit her though, instead she would nab every solo she could right out from under little miss perfect's nose. Success was the best revenge after all. So she sang and she played each note with passion and power.

Her fingers were beginning to ache when her phone buzzed on her bed side table. She jumped a little at the sudden, unexpected sound then frustratedly plucked up the device to check it. She frowned when she saw it was Merida. _Could that girl get any more annoying?_ she thought with a scowl before opening the message. It wasn't that she found Merida particularly annoying, she just hated to be interrupted mid song. Her scowl shifted to concern when she saw that Merida had to pick up Rapunzel on her walk home. Immediately Ariel felt guilty for having reacted so selfishly to Merida's text message.

Ariel had known about Rapunzel's crazy mother since she had met her back in freshman year of high school. She had even met the woman once and honestly, Ariel had some major doubts about that woman. Madame Gothel looked nothing like Rapunzel which Ariel thought was peculiar. Ariel herself took after her mother more than her father but she still had his eyes, Rapunzel had nothing of her mother's.

Ariel moved her keyboard out of the way and went to their little kitchen to start the kettle. She figured Rapunzel and Merida would both probably want a cup of tea. As she waited for the water to boil she searched the cupboards for the camomile tea. She smiled nostalgically as she searched for it, when Merida first moved from Scotland with her family she and Ariel had stayed up until three that night drinking a pot of the stuff. After spending the entire day arguing they had discovered that they at least had their appreciation for tea in common.

She finally found the little paper bag and sprinkled just enough of the contents into the metal mesh trap in the tea pot. Conveniently enough the water was ready and so she poured into the pot and shut it up to steep. She placed three mugs on the counter and waited for her room mates to show up.

She hoped they hadn't tu into any trouble along the way, it made her anxious to be the one waiting. Her thoughts drifted to Aurora once more, she found it annoying how pretty her hair was, the way it curled into ringlets at the end. she looked like a Victorian doll or something. The colour got on her nerves as well, her hair was less golden like rapunzel's and more like the colour of white rose petals, just enough colour to keep it from being pure white. It was beautiful...

Ariel Shook her class mate from her mind, after all it wasn't as if she should be jealous, most guys seemed to prefer her over Aurora. "perhaps I'm taking this whole rivalry thing too far..." she muttered aloud. Just then the door opened and her roomies walked in, causing Ariel to beam with excitement. When her friends were around, her darker thoughts had really not chance in hell at occupying her mind. "You're back!" she exclaimed.

Merida looked her up and down and rolled her eyes, "Are you serious? Couldn't you have managed at least a tee shirt?" she asked as he waled to the room that the shared. Ariel raised an eye brown and looked down. She was still in her bra. When Merida emerged from their room moments later (without her archery gear) Ariel Just shrugged.

"You're just jealous of the girls hun, there's no point in pretending you aren't" she said adjusting her bra straps. Merida rolled her eyes and Rapunzel walked into her tiny room to drop off her mass amount of things. "Besides it's just us so I don't really see the problem."

Merida hoisted herself easily to sit on their little kitchen table across from her, "lass, it seems you hardly ever wear a shirt," she said without a touch of cheek or implication of anything.

Ariel shrugged again "I just don't like shirts," she said matter-o-factly. She paused for a moment realizing their little blond friend hadn't come back out of her room. Ariel walked over to the door way and knocked on it, "Rapunzel honey," she called out, "do you feel alright?"

There was a rustle on the other side of the door, "no, I think I'm going to go to sleep," said Rapunzel from the other side of the door. Ariel's heart clenched, she knew her friend well enough to know she was using her 'I was just crying but I'm going to pretend I wasn't voice.' It had been Ariel's idea for the blond to escape from her mother so she felt guilty when she saw her suffer because of it.

"Are you sure?" called Ariel, "We're having my loose leaf camomile..."There was a rustle again and in her mind's eye she could see her struggling with the decision Rapunzel forgot sometimes that she could be open with her feelings when she was with Merida and Ariel. "Rapunzel come out ad talk to me about it...please." she began again her voice breaking a little.

Merida watched from the table, she wasn't any good with the mushy stuff. "You always hold me when I cry, and pat my hair..." began Ariel, "and when we go to parties you always beat away the creeps and hold my hair back when I'm puking in the toilet...please" said Ariel softly, "let me return the favour..."

The door creaked open slowly and Rapunzel looked up into Ariel's blue eyes with her own red rimmed green ones before wrapping her arms around her and crying into her shoulder. Ariel patted her head, "It's just n..not fair..." sputtered out Rapunzel.

"I know hun, I know..."

Together the girls then drank their tea before settling down in front of the tv to watch a Harry Potter movie. None of them managed to catch the ending though.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7 | Our House | Jim, Jack & Hiccup**

It was upon him at last, the day of reckoning, the day his father would meet and appraise his new room mates. Oddly enough it was the day Hiccup would meet one of his room mates himself. He wasn't sure what to expect when Jack would walk through the front door. Would he be a serious crazy? Would he be scary? Would he try to speak to his dog? All of these questions made Hiccup rather uncomfortable.

He sat on his porch waiting for Jim to arrive with this friend from therapy rather anxiously. His dog toothless kept him company but didn't calm his nerves. Toothless was an old dog who had undertone much dental work so his was pretty much as wimpy as Hiccup was. Hiccup didn't care obviously, he thought it was appropriate that he would have a dog who matched his personality. He idly wondered if his new roomies could mind having a dog in the house. Jim seemed to like Toothless well enough...but this Jack guy...

Yet again his stress was snow-balling so he got up and started to pace while his dog watched. He was beginning to break out in a cold sweat despite the scorching heat, actually it was a little ridiculous how nervous he was getting. He was going to be okay, he had fulfilled his father's crazy challenge...

Hiccup paused and his eyes widened with shock, he had met one of his father's challenges. No, not just met, met within record time, he had found his room mates the very next day after he was challenged to find them. Whether or not this Jack guy turned out to be alright or not he was going to be okay in his father's eyes at least.

He turned and looked down the long stretch of road that lead to his house. He could see a tiny car in the distance...

* * *

Jim and Jack could finally see Hiccup's house after what felt like a very long drive out of town. The traffic had been uncharacteristically horrid and Jack was oddly quiet as he stared out the window. Jim wasn't one for filling silences with needless chatter but a conversation or two would have been nice. He didn't push for it though, after all for as far as Jack was concerned, his life only began less than a year ago. To be out of the hospital was a big deal for him so he left him to his thoughts.

When they arrived at Hiccup's house though, Jack broke the silence with a wondrous "Woah..."

Jim smiled crookedly, "Welcome to Berk Manor Mr. Frost."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "Is this Hiccup guy a princess or something?" he asked. Jim had a hard time telling whether he was serious or not so as usual he just laughed.

"No," said Jim, then he considered, "actually, kinda in a way." Hiccup Berk had quite a large inheritance and lived in a modern day castle. Not only that, he had a delicate institution and Jim had on more than one occasion caught him talking to his dog toothless. He was a weird sort of princess like guy, and Jim thought it in the best possible way.

They pulled into the drive way and saw Hiccup standing awkwardly on the porch waiting for them. Jim sighed, what was the dummy doing ou in his heat? Hiccup waved even more awkwardly and Jack waved back with an easy smile on his face. Jack turned to Jim, "He looks nervous, " he said, "is he always like this?"

Jim chuckled ruefully, "He's a little worse than usual today, actually when you get to know him better he's not that bad." With that, Jim got out of the car and was followed by Jack. Jim sighed as he realized for the second time that day that he needed to help Jack find some sort of job so could own more clothes.

"Hey Hiccup!" Said Jim, raising a hand in greeting.

"Hi, Jim," he said walking closer to the two, "and uh...Jack." He offered a hand out tentatively and Jack reached out and shook it.

" Hi, it's great to meet you and all that," said Jack in a friendly way. "So I guess we'll be living together then huh?"

Hiccup nodded, "Well that's the idea," he said, "We have to go chat with my dad first though,"

And so the three of them went inside to meet Stoick, Hiccup's father. Jack found tha house to be rather surreal, for one thing it smelled much better than the hospital, for another thing it wasn't nearly as sterile. Jack wasn't sure whether or not it would be appropriate on walk on the wood floor in bare feet but slipped off his flip flops when he saw the other guys taking off their shoes.

He looked around at the large foyer and felt a little out of place yet not uncomfortable. Hiccup's house wasn't exactly creative or overly tasteful in it's decor, Jack decided that this must have ment that Hiccup had nothing to do with the design. He seemed to be a little more mellow than ridiculous wood paneling and chandelier lighting.

"So my boy," said a hulking figure approaching them, "are these your new room mate's?" Jack was immediately reminded of his psych, Santa Clause.

"That we are Mr. Berk," said Jim cooly and confidently, "It's great to see you again by the way." Jim held his hand out for the giant to shake. Stoick shook his hand with a grin.

"Good to see you again too," he said, "So you promise that you'll get my son into some trouble?" he said with a wink. Hiccup cringed at his father's behaviour but Jim just laughed.

"Oh you better believe it," he said with a smile, "he won't have any excuses now."

"Good to hear it," said Stoick before turning his attention to Jack. He looked him up and down, taking interest in his unusual white hair. "Who are you?"

"Jack Overland Frost by good sir," said Jack with a comical bow, "or so they say at least."

Stoick raised an eyebrow and scratched his beard, "right..." he said, " and how old are you?"

Jack shrugged, "They tell me I'm eighteen."

Stoick furrowed his brows, "right." he said. "How do you know my son?" Hiccup's father was thoroughly confused and somewhat concerned.

"I don't," said Jack, "actually I just me him today." the matter of fact way that he said it took everyone aback. Jack on the other hand didn't see what was so unusual about what he said.

"So how did you get here?" asked Stoick. Jack was about to answer but Hiccup cut in before he could.

"He's a friend of Jim's and I really don't see any problem with having him stay with us," he said gesturing to himself and Jim.

Stoick regarded his son, "So you're going to be living with someone you've only just met?"

Hiccup nodded tentatively, "yeees?"

Stoick burst into laughter, "Well this is most certainly out of your comfort zone then isn't it?" he asked. Hiccup just sort of deflated at that, while Jim was amused and Jack was in a comfortable state of confusion.

* * *

The Three of them had just settled into their new Home. Stoick had left he keys, Sarah had helped them grocery shop and everything was where it should be. It was a rather cue little house, with one bedroom on the main floor and two in the basement. They had a good size garage and a pretty big back yard and Jim was itching to have a few people over.

they were sitting in their new living room, Jim on the couch Hiccup on the chair by their electric fireplace and Jack on the window seat. They were all sitting quietly, watching the weather channel, although, only Hiccup was really interested. Groaning in frustration Jim got up, "okay," he said, "It's time to christen the new house."

everyone looked at him in confusion, "How?" asked Hiccup.

"Party Hiccup," said Jim dead panned, "duh."

Jack's eye' immediately brightened at the prospect of fun but his dreams were cut short by Hiccup. "No!" said Hiccup anxiously, "I mean we can have people over but...a party?"

Jim rolled his eyes, "seriously man, your dad literally wants you to do crazy shit and you won't even consider it."

Hiccup frowned, " Jim it's been a really long day... and I don't want to stay up to late and..."

Jim cut him off with a sigh, "No it's fine but we are having people over, like now." he said pulling out the dinosaur flip phone. "Ariel, if I gave you the address to my new place of residence would you show up?" he said into his phone. He smiled crookedly, "Of course hun, the more the merrier...kay see you in ten then...bye." He flipped shut his phone and leaned back on the couch with a self-satisfied grin on his face.

"Who was that?" asked Jack at the same time as Hiccup asked, "OH my gOD WHAT DO YoU MEAN tHE MorE THE MErrIER!"

Jim looked at them both with a face of mild annoyance, "Ariel is this girl I know..."

"His on again off again girlfriend," Hiccup corrected.

Jim narrowed his eyes "she is this girl I know," he said again, "and she's coming over with her room mates.

"Why?" asked Hiccup.

Jim rolled his eyes, "Because reasons Hiccup." said Jim flatly.

"Reasons like?" asked Jack with a mischievous smile he wore when he pushed people's buttons for fun.

"Reasons like Rapunzel's mom is back and Ariel thinks she could use some fun," said Jim straight faced. Hiccup nodded sombrely he had heard about the trouble the other Gothel woman would cause and needless to say he didn't approve. Jack was still confused, although not nearly as comfortable this time. He would have to find out what Rapunzel's mother was doing, he figured he could make a game of it.

"And so..." continued Jim, "If you take a Rapunzel to a party, she'll probably want a Mérida to go with her..." Hiccup as well as Jack gave Jim a quizzical look this time, "Mérida is Ariel's cousin from Scotland and her other room mate."

"Oh..." Hiccup and Jack said in unison as if they knew already and were being reminded.

Jim found something about the conversation strange, he had told them that girls were coming over and yet neither one of them asked about how hot they were. He wasn't surprised Hiccup didn't, he was awkward about that sort of thing...Jack on the other hand... To Jim, Jack had always seemed confident and sure of things, he was more dude-like than Hiccup was. Jim pondered this for a moment, was Jack gay? _No, _thought Jim, he suspected he would have known for sure by now if that were the case. it finally dawned on Jim that the only girls Jack saw...ever, were his dentist and the nurses who worked in his wing at the hospital. It was then that Jim realized that Jack probably didn't know how to behave as far as that went, in fact he probably didn't even know to ask the questions in the first place.

Jim regarded Jack with a thoughtful look. It would be interesting to see how he would act when Ariel finally got there...


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8 | Fancy Meeting You | The whole gang**

Merida drove of course and Ariel had enthusiastically claimed shotgun leaving little Rapunzel to crawl into the back seat. Rapunzel still couldn't figure out why Ariel had insisted on them coming with her. Usually Ariel demanded that she go alone when she saw Jim...that and she had her own car so she didn't need a ride. Despite her sad mood, Rapunzel found the sight of Ariel and Merida bickering in the front seat to be utterly comforting.

"Y'are the craziest damn lass I ever did know!" groaned Merida at something Ariel had said. Ariel laughed with glee at being called crazy, for whatever reason, she seemed to really like being called insane. "No!" cried Merida, "Y'aren't supposed to take that as a compliment!"

Rapunzel giggled, "It's been too long since the last time we went out and about like this," said Rapunzel out the window.

Merida raised an eyebrow and grinned lopsidedly, "You're right wee lamb, it's been far too long."

Ariel chuckled, "Finally something we can agree on," she said. Merida stuck out her tongue and Rapunzel laughed. It was shaping up to be a very good outing.

"So Ariel," asked Rapunzel, "you were super vague when you dragged us out of the apartment, where are we going exactly?"

Ariel turned around, "We're going to Jim's house of course." she said with an innocent smile. She turned to Merida, "Kay, now you turn right here."

Merida frowned, "There's something y'aren't telling us lass," said Merida testily. "This is not where Jim lives."

Ariel let out a gasp, "are you sure? Oh Merida, I knew you had a poor sense of direction but forgetting the way to my boyfriend's house?" her voice was dripping in sarcasm.

"I have a poor sense o' direction?" asked Merida, "Do I need to remind ya who got who lost on our last camping trip?"

"Whatever," said Ariel, "Alright it's the third house down that street." She pointed to where they were supposed to be going.

Rapunzel poked her head into the front part of the cab, "Hey Ariel, did Jim and his mom get a new house?" she asked curiously.

"Not quite, you'll see..." she answered mischievously.

They drove into the ranch house's driveway. It was small and rather cute, Rapunzel liked it instantly. Kicking open her door, (Which is entirely necessary with Angus's sticky doors,) She hopped out onto the drive way and was followed by Merida and Ariel. She was more than a little confused to see a strange white haired boy sitting on what appeared to be the bay window seat. Their eyes locked a moment and Rapunzel shivered involuntarily it wasn't a bad shiver necessarily but she wasn't sure it was a good one either...it just was. "Ariel," She said turning to her friend, "are you sure this is the right place?"

Before Ariel could answer, Jim came bounding out the door, "Ariel!" he called out. Ariel waled up to meet him on the front lawn and the embraced when they met each other. "I'm so glad you could make it," he said as they pulled away.

She laughed," and miss a chance to compare my room mates with yours and ultimately decide that mine are way better?" she asked cheekily, "no way mister!

Jim rolled his eyes and smiled at her competitiveness "whatever you say, although," he said as Merida and Rapunzel finally reached the couple "I gotta say your room mates are definitely more attractive." he winked and Ariel playfully punched him on the arm.

Merida rolled her eyes but said nothing, she wasn't sure she was in the mood to pick a fight with her cousin's ex boyfriend. Instead she stuck close to Rapunzel and her aura of idiot repellent.

"So," said Ariel suggestively, "are you going to show us in or are we just going to hang out on your front lawn all night?"

Jim stared at her flirtatiously, "Well well, someone's impatient it seems..." Merida couldn't refrain from gagging, which caused Rapunzel to giggle at her antics. "I guess I shouldn't keep you waiting," he said a little sheepishly. He lead them into the house holding Ariel's had all the while. He was a little scared that she might disapear again if he let go.

The first to enter the house was Jim, then Ariel, then Merida and finally Rapunzel. When she saw the inside of the house she found it to be even more cute with it's Good will furniture and such. "Jim, it's so cute!" she said.

Jim looked at her with a raised brow, "Uh...I wouldn't call it cute but uh...thanks?"

"Ummm...Hi Rapunzel," said Hiccup who had wandered from his seat on the couch to the group of people at the front door. "You remember me right?" he asked, "I mean we only met once..."

Rapunzel grinned from ear to ear, "I remember! You went to after prom didn't you?" she asked.

Hiccup chuckled nervously, "Yeah..." he said. Ariel and Jim had gone to sit in the living room and Merida was still working on getting off her boots. Hiccup found Merida to be really pretty and her hair was certainly impressive, "so..." he began, "You're Merida right?"

Merida kicked off her other boot and stood up straight to face Hiccup's inquiries, "Aye, and how is it that you know my name?" sh asked with narrowed eyes.

"Jim told us you were coming!" he blurted out nervously under the red head's intense gaze. He really hoped that he didn't break out into a sweat, Astrid had always been a little intimidating but this girl was something else. "I mean uh, he told us about you."

Her look turned dead pan, "So you all sat around talking about us before we came then?" She asked slightly frustrated. Hiccup thought her accent was really cool.

"No, no!" he said, "not really..." he said shrinking back a bit. Merida didn't know what to make of this timid boy, she had never seen a boy so meek. She mentally shrugged deciding it was some sort of nervous condition.

"Alright," she said sighing, "So what's your name then?" she asked.

"Hiccup," he answered. Rapunzel was pateintly waiting for Merida to move on into the living room.

Merida looked at Hiccup for a moment to see if he were pulling her leg and much to her surprise he was not, "You're name is Hiccup?" she asked. He nodded self consciously. She couldn't contain her giggle, "that's so awesome!" she said earnestly, "That is quite literally the best name I have ever heard..." she said. She decided that she was going to like this boy.

The three of them finally walked into the living room and once again Rapunzel's green eyes met Jack's blue one's. He grinned at her knowingly, "You're Rapunzel right?"

Rapunzel blinked a couple of times and looked around. Ariel, Jim , Merida and Hiccup were all sitting on the couch leaving the chair next to the window seat. She cautiously went to go sit in it and found herself dwarfed by it. The people on the couch were quietly chatting whilst watching the strange scene. Jim had introduced Ariel to Jack while Hiccup and Merida were chatting in the little front door area and Merida had said hi to him when she saw him. He was supremely interested in the interaction between Jack and Rapunzel. The were the two strangest people that he knew after all.

"I am..." she said at last, feeling slightly uncomfortable, "Who are you?"

"I'm Jack, he said..."so Punzie, what do you like to do for fun?" he asked the girl with the golden hair. What were the chances that he would meet his midnight sunshine in person? Fate seemed to have something up it's tricky sleeve.

Rapunzel blinked a couple of times, no one had ever nick named her like that before and it threw her off a little. "Well um...I like to paint I guess, what about you?" she tried to suppress her blush but couldn't. For a guy who hardly knew her he was acting awfully at ease, he seemed like he knew things. She wasn't sure whether she liked that or not.

"I like to cause trouble and look out windows I guess, actually I haven't gotten a chance to do much else." he said nonchalantly.

rapunzel raised an eyebrow curiously, "What do you mean?" she asked. This boy's mystery seemed to be building.

"Well I've been in the Hospital until today, Hook memorial hospital." he said with a shrug, "by the way, what were you doing all by yourself in that area of town?"

She froze, she had walked by that hospital last night, "You saw me?" she asked quietly, "and remembered me?"

He smirked, "Well it's not often that smallish blond girls wander around there in the middle of the night," he said.

She laughed nervously, "Yeah...I think I'll be avoiding that from now on." truthfully it had been a scary experience for her.

* * *

After everyone had gone home Jack, once again sat on the bay window seat and looked out at the moon. Something about the moon had always kept him awake at night but for whatever reason it glowed a little more brightly now...


End file.
